ANNAPOLIS, MD — Governor Wes Moore today joined elected leaders in Baltimore City to participate in a simulation illustrating the reentry challenges that Marylanders face following incarceration. The simulation—organized by the Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services—both illustrates and informs the Moore-Miller Administration’s all-of-the-above approach to promoting public safety by reducing recidivism rates through reduced barriers to work, wages, and wealth for returning citizens.
“We need to end the myth that every sentence is a life sentence,” said Gov. Moore. “Today, leaders from across the state had the opportunity to better understand the many challenges our returning citizens face. And our experiences will help inform the work we do to provide real second chances to Marylanders under the care of DPSCS.”
Simulation participants experienced one month in the life of a returning citizen by visiting a series of stations. Each station illustrated real challenges that returning citizens face, including probation compliance and barriers to obtaining employment and housing. The session aimed to promote greater understanding to inspire collective action on the critical role that support services play in successful reentry—especially during the first six months following release, when recidivism occurs at the highest rate.
“Today’s event is a testament to the work being done to change the trajectory of returning citizens’ lives. It also highlights the challenges and barriers they face in pursuit of a second chance—and the responsibility we all share to help break those barriers down and open doors of opportunity,” said Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services Secretary Carolyn J. Scruggs. “When they leave our system, if we continue to see them only as criminals, it diminishes their ability to move forward. We must uplift them, believe in their potential, and give them the chance to succeed.”
Among individuals who return to state prison within their first year of being released, 36% of cases are for technical supervision violations, which involve noncriminal noncompliance with probation orders. For returning citizens under post-release supervision, obstacles to successful reentry can include a lack of access to support services, transportation, housing, and economic opportunity. Approximately 10% of individuals return within 3 years for committing a new crime.
Under the Moore-Miller Administration, the Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services has changed its reentry approach to more actively engage formerly incarcerated individuals to help address access and economic barriers, especially by cancelling debt for outstanding mandatory, parole, and administrative release supervision fees and drug testing fees for individuals who are currently under the supervision of the agency's Division of Parole and Probation.
The Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services has also expanded mentorship opportunities for incarcerated youth, partnering with the Prince George’s State’s Attorney’s Office to create wrap-around services and career guidance support for emerging adults ages 18-26 who are navigating reentry. Participants undergo six months of weekly virtual group sessions that support age-appropriate critical thinking and skills-understanding; peer support; mentoring; and other opportunities for change. Upon completion of the program, participants receive personalized reentry planning.
The Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services also expanded reentry resource fairs, which invite community partners—including more than 20 different state agencies—to interact with individuals who are within 18 months of being released. By creating opportunities to build relationships with community support networks, the fairs allow returning citizens to invest more fully in their future prior to release.
“Many people don't understand how emotional it can be for someone coming back to mainstream society from prison or from jail. And many of us don't understand how our systems also add layers of burden,” said Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services Director of Community Investment Tholyn Twyman. “Going through the simulation makes it personal for everyone, becoming an educational tool that hopefully will spark lasting change to make things simpler and more effective.”
###